This is a 371 application of PCT/EP95/01043 filed Mar. 21, 1995, which claims the priority of DE P4411046.4 filed Mar. 30, 1994.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a scatterable formulation for the dry cleaning of textiles, more especially carpets.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In addition to shampoos, powder-form cleaning formulations have recently been increasingly used for cleaning carpets and other textile coverings in situ, enjoying the advantage that they do not leave any marks and dry more quickly. Cleaning powders of the type in question consist essentially of relatively large quantities of adsorbents and a cleaning liquid--generally consisting for the most part of water--adsorbed thereon. It is assumed that the cleaning liquid is responsible for separating the soil particles from the fibers and transporting them to the adsorbent which, after drying, is removed together with the soil either by brushing or by vacuum cleaning. Various materials have been proposed as adsorbents. Of these, it is only intended here to mention the foam plastic powders described in Austrian patent 296 477. Above all, ground foam of urea/formaldehyde resin has been widely used in practice. More recent developments, as described for example in European patent application 178 566, have led to the use of cellulose powder as an adsorbent. Although an extremely high standard in regard to cleaning performance and non-discoloration had been achieved with cleaning formulations based on cellulose powder, a search was nevertheless made for new compositions which would have an even higher cleaning performance with less dust emission and which could be worked into the carpet without difficulty.